Mass Communication: Advertising/Public Relations

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Bachelor’s degree programs in mass communication encompass four major program areas: advertising/public relations, radio/TV/film, journalism/news editorial/photojournalism, and multimedia. For each specialty, nine semester credits in the desired major, in addition to the 37-41 semester credit Illinois Transferable General Education Core Curriculum (IAI GECC), are recommended. The remaining credits necessary to complete an associate degree (a minimum of 64 semester credits) should be chosen with the assistance of an academic adviser. Completion of at least 60 semester credits will permit students to transfer as juniors. Community and junior college students are encouraged to complete an Associate in Arts or Associate in Science degree prior to transfer. Some schools have specific requirements for all students for admission to the major (e.g., portfolio review, minimum grade point average and/or other forms of assessment). Please check with your academic adviser. Note: Students should be computer literate. Computer skills may be acquired before or early in the college experience.

An advertising/public relations program combines ethical practices with creative strategies in an integrated marketing environment to apply current media practices to organizational mass communication needs.

The following list of courses is designed for students choosing to begin their college career at Joliet Junior College and later transfer to another Illinois college.

Illinois Articulation Initiative Recommendations

Joliet Junior College participates in the IAI majors panels for the Associate in Arts and Associate in Science degrees to help students transfer major courses to an Illinois college or university that participates in IAI. Transferability of major courses is still dependent upon the transfer institution accepting the courses as major courses. An updated list of courses is available at www.itransfer.org/iai/majors and www.itransfer.org/iai/articulationTables. Students should also check the transferability of courses through u.select (formerly known as CAS), which can be found at www.itransfer.org/uselect. Always consult the four-year college or university to which you plan to transfer and work with a counselor or an adviser at JJC. Note that students do not graduate with a transfer major from a community college but rather the community college prepares students to have the flexibility to transfer and to choose a major from a number of different areas. Students must be responsible to seek information to make good curriculum choices. Students should recognize that, even though they may be admitted to a four-year transfer institution, they may need to meet that institution’s separate requirements to be admitted into a particular major.

Advertising/Public Relations Requirements: 9 Semester Hours

Advertising/Public Relations Core Requirements

ADV 101 - Principles of Advertising
and/or
JOUR 104 - Introduction to Public Relations
And one or two of the four courses below:
JOUR 102 - Editing and Production
JOUR 103 - Introduction to Mass Media
JOUR 201 - Basic News Writing
SPCH 131 - Introduction to Broadcasting

IAI General Education Recommendations

I. Communication: 9 Semester Hours

II. Social and Behavioral Sciences: 9 Semester Hours

Select courses from at least two different areas from IAI Social/Behavioral Sciences.

III. Humanities and Fine Arts: 9 Semester Hours

Select one course from IAI Humanities and one course from IAI Fine Arts and one course from either IAI Humanities or Fine Arts.

IV. Physical and Life Sciences: 7-8 Semester Hours

Select one course from IAI Physical Sciences. Select one course from IAI Life Sciences. Select at least one laboratory course.